Saturday: Homemade Clam Chowder

While I was blog hopping the other day. I came across Bibs and Baubles and I loved her blog post on No Pics leaked Here (Go and checkout her blog...

The blog topic really had me thinking… what would people
think or learn about you if they peeked in your phone? So I decided to give a glimpse
of what you would see. The pictures
below are from the last two weeks.

My Canon is always with me while at Michael’s games. So usually
my cell phone takes the back seat. I try my best to take a picture on my cell
phone to capture the moment. I’m happy that I was able to capture a moment with
my baby on the football field.

Of course we have a photo session before entering into my daughter's
game, LOL

So these sneakers were purchased for my son while I was at Blogher’12 at Zara and he never even wore them (side eye) now they can’t fit him,
so I gladly took them off of his hands. Out shopping last Saturday.

Yup, we were literally running late to my daughter’s game
earlier this week, LOL. I love capturing those simple moments.

I really struggle with taking pictures while I cook. Plus theirs
usually no one to take them for me or maybe I will recruit someone. I think I may also invest in a remote for my
camera which I never considered until Mimi posted something about it one of her blog post. Anywho, the picture below is for me prepping to make homemade has browns.

What’s up with children taking selfies with their parent’s
phone? My oldest does the same thing. However, I’m crowning Michael the king of
selfies. Half I the time I don’t even realize that he has my phone (I’m still
madly in love with my ipad.)

With all this technology, I worry about sending certain pictures
to the Mister... I’ll pass. (Plus my kids are always in my phone.

My phone explains me, I cook/bake, I love family and my businesses.
I’m always trying something or learning something new. The only thing I could think of that someone would say, is why I do not post all of the selfies I take. LOL

Anywho, what would someone say about you after peeking in your phone?Thanks for stopping by!

So three years has passed since I started Our Delightful Home
(September 15, 2011) and boy has things changed… when I first started this blog
I was a full-time working mom fresh out of graduate school. I remember visiting
blogs such as Chic Little House, and For All Things Creative (just to name a
few) and being in all. I wanted a platform where I could share “MiCasa”, “My
Life” etc. I really do not have too many people in my life that enjoy my
hobbies:

Baking

Sewing

Photography

Thrifting

Couponing

Well within my first 12 months of blogging I was laid-off
from my job (which was a blessing in disguise). In that time I founded an organization where I volunteer all of my time working with inner city youth in my community...

I had no idea how “deep” the blogger community was. I remember
finding a new blog that I would fall in love with every second of the day (you
guys are amazing). I mean there are some pretty amazing blogs out there.

I will say that you can expect from me to post about my
hobbies (above) plus life. I cannot promise that my
schedule will be consistent with theme. However, I will try to post Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by to say "Hey!".

I’m happy that I will be trying new recipes
this week. For my family and myself, I found this delicious recipe for banana
muffins with a crumb topping that my family loves. I plan on sharing the recipe
soon.

Anywho… what’s on the menu this week?

Monday: Fried Clam Strips with French Fries

Tuesday: Homemade Shrimp Scampi

Wednesday: Teriyaki Salmon on a bed of Jasmine Rice

Thursday: Teriyaki Salmon on a bed of Jasmine Rice or brown rice w/broccoli

So on Michael's first day of school my four year old nephew was over for a few
days. His last night over, I decided to make brownies to go along with dinner.
I explained to him that the brownies had to cool off. However, he would be able
to have some once they were cooled.

I checked on the brownies several times to see if they were
completely cooled. They weren't!

Well upon Michael coming home from school. I noticed something
was wrong with the brownies. I checked on them and I found this.

I asked my nephew several times if he touched them and he said
NO. I was worried that the dog got to them. (He has sweet tooth.)

(Ok, so my son 11 and I just didn't get it…when a toddler
wants something. They want it NOW! )

Overall, these brownies came out amazing!!! They were
perfect. Not too moist. Not too hard, just perfect! I followed the directions to
the “T”. I’m guessing they were so good that I could not find a trace of them
on my nephews hands. They're kid approved!

They were so good that I made another batch the next day. (Let’s
call this my dump batch. Whatever treats I had at home went into this batch. )

Also, the first batch I made was with walnuts. I used this recipe as my base.

All
opinions expressed are solely those of the author. I was provided with a free
sample of this product to review. I have not received any Monetary Compensation
for this review but did receive free products to use & evaluate for the
review. Your thoughts & opinions may differ from me.

I had simply an amazing year gardening (my best year thus far ) and we’re still going
strong!!

Big Boy Tomato Plant

What I planted:

Big Boy Tomato’s (2)

Green Pepper (2)

Scotch Bonnet (2)

Cherry Tomatoes (2)

Hot Cherry Pepper (Purchased by accident) (1)

Lettuce (this was not successful) (2)

Cherry Tomato

Green Peppers

Scotch Bonnet

Cherry Hot Peppers

Green Peppers & Cherry Tomatoes

Next year I would love to add on more veggies. I plan on only
planting one cherry tomato plant, and adding another larger tomato plant in its
place. I would also like to assist my friends and family with starting their
gardens. I may also try starting with the seeds as well instead of purchasing
the plants.

I finally found a
pizza dough recipe that I am in love with. I enjoyed the recipe so much that I
made pizza on Saturday and Sunday. (shhhh, let’s keep that a secret. ) I
noticed that I have been eating a lot of fried foods and I’m really trying to
cut back not saying pizza is a better option. My goal is to not have any fried foods during the week. However, I will leave room
for one cheat day on the weekends.

So I never had the opportunity to share the Mister’s
surprise birthday/graduation party. I never realized the lack of party décor ideas
there are for men. Yeah, they have themed ideas for major milestones. However, it
was really hard for me to find inspiration.

So of course I just went on a whim…

(The cake was later placed in the center of the table.
However, it was too hot outside during the time I took pictures. )

I remember seeing a beer cake idea floating around the
internet. However, I could not remember
the measurements and directions.

I remember being
parked outside of the store watching a YouTube video making sure I had the
right amounts for everything.

I opted to just use the beer cakes as a visual. AKA, they
cannot be moved.

All of the little décor around the table was purchased at Michael’s as well on clearance. I purchased the little bottles of liquor at my local liquor store and added the graduation ribbon around them.

The beer cake topper and base tray was purchase at the
Dollar Tree. The ribbon that went around the cake was purchased at Michael’s on
clearance.

The signature picture frame was also purchased in the clearance
department. I believe it was under $20.00 and it was a huge hit at the party.

Executing this party was defiantly an experience I will
never forget. It’s amazing how things come together at the last minute.

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? I had
my Girls Leadership Academy over the weekend so it went by super-fast. However,
I had so much fun!! Michael had a game yesterday, which we were home by early
afternoon, which is a change from the norm of late afternoon/early evening.

I’m happy to say that my menu plan went as
scheduled for the most part last week. I plan on staying away from fried foods
and eating large meals after 7pm.

So Pinterest has my mind going. Yesterday while over my sisters house I noticed these cute dinning room chairs. At first I suggested that my sister give them to a family member. Of course the light bulb went off. "I want them for myself, I could put them in my living room. They match my decor. " Blurting this out to my sister. I confessed to her that I have a love for chairs sigh. However, these chairs do match the decor in my living room, lol

I'm not sure how the chairs went from my living, room to my kitchen...I remember seeing this super cute DIY Kitchen ideas on another blog. ( I will reveal the idea once I have started purchasing the items needed) of course I started going on Pinterest for more ideas. Within 24 hours I have a design plan.

Ok, so now we get to this table. Hint, hint...

I've come to the conclusion that I am so over the table that is in my kitchen. That I have had since my first apartment. (Many, Many years ago.) I want a round table that I can pant over as many times as I want. :) I plan on going to my local thrift stores to see if they have something similar. ( the item above is from Craigslist and the seller wanted $30.00, this was posted over a month ago so I doubt it's still available.

How was your holiday weekend? My weekend was really low-key.
Last weekend was the last weekend that I will have off until the end of
football season. So yes, all I wanted to do was relax. I tied a couple of
difference recipes… I am determined to master making homemade pizza dough at home.
I have tried several recipes in the past. However, the dough just doesn't come out right…

About me

Hello, I’m Tasheena. I am so glad you stopped by today! I created Simply Tasheena back in 2011 as a platform to share my love for amazing food, travel, and all things fabulous! I hope you enjoy stopping by as much as I enjoy creating content for you to read. Don’t be too shy to leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers!